The Titanic in pictures

Today (15 April) marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic - it went down in the icy waters of the north Atlantic at 2.20am. The ill-fated end of the glamorous liner in 1912 sent shock waves around the world, with 1,514 people perishing in the tragedy. Below we take a look at the history of a ship once deemed unsinkable with photos, illustrations and key facts...

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words: Emma Spedding

The Titanic in pictures

The Titanic was 882 feet 9 inches long, 92 feet wide and 175 feet tall from the top of the funnels to the keel. It weighed 900 tonnes and had 46,328 usable volume in tonnes.

The Titanic in pictures

There were three classes aboard this gigantic vessel.

The Titanic's Second Officer Charles Lightoller, who survived the tragedy, said: "You could actually walk miles along the decks and passages covering different ground all the time. I was thoroughly familiar with pretty well every type of ship afloat but it took me 14 days before I could, with confidence, find my way from one part of that ship to another."

The Titanic in pictures

Captain Edward John Smith was in command of the Titanic and died in the disaster, although accounts vary as to how he perished - some witnesses say he went down with the ship and others place him in the water, cradling a baby.

The Titanic in pictures

Aboard the ship was 15,000 bottles of ale and 1,000 bottles of wine. There was plenty of food including 36,000 oranges, 75,000 Ilbs of fresh meat and 40,000 fresh eggs.

There was also 57,000 pieces of crockery, 29,000 pieces of glassware and 44,000 pieces of cutlery to cater for the Titanic's glamorous haul of millionaires and distinguished society figures.

The Titanic in pictures

This set of keys to the Titanic's binocular boxes sold for £54,000. The keys belonged to senior officer David Blair, who was replaced at the last minute before the ship set sale and took the keys to the binocular boxes with him by mistake.

The other officers on board didn't have access to the binoculars during the journey. If they had been to hand they might have spotted the iceberg that sank the ship.

The Titanic in pictures

This postcard from one of the victims of the disaster, Frederick J Banfield, was one of the last notes sent from the liner. Frederick was 28 years old and a second class passenger. His body was never identified.

The Titanic in pictures

The ship wreck of the Titanic lies 12,600 feet deep and was first found 73 years after the disaster when it was filmed by an unmanned submarine called Argo.The bow was 18 metres deep into the seabed.

The Titanic in pictures

The Titanic was capable of carrying 64 lifeboats, which could carry well over the ship's maximum capacity of 3547 people. However the ship only had 20 lifeboats aboard, in line with sea faring regulations of that time. The lifeboats could only accommodate 33 per cent of the total passengers and crew.

The Titanic in pictures

In 2003 documentary Ghosts of the Abyss, Oscar-winning director of Titanic James Cameron visited the legendary ship wreck with a team of marine and history experts.

The Titanic in pictures

The Titanic's grand staircase was an incredibly ornate entrance to the first class section of the liner. It descended five levels down from the boat deck to the D deck. It is now used as an easy entry point to the ship's interior in the wreck.

The Titanic in pictures

The first lifeboat to leave the Titanic carried 28 survivors even though the capacity was 65 as people didn't think they were in imminent danger.

Titanic survivor Jack B Thayer said: "The partly filled lifeboat standing by about 100 yards away never came back. Why on earth they never came back is a mystery."

The Titanic in pictures

Captain Arthur Henry Rostron was in command of the Caparthia, the ship that picked up Titanic survivors in the boats hours after it sank. He immediately set a course at maximum speed to go and help when he heard of the disaster via the Titanic's SOS wires - although the Caparthia was around 50 miles away at the time.

Rostron ordered the heating and hot water to be cut off on the Caparthia to make as much steam as possible for the engines. The Carparthia arrived at the Titanic at 4am and carried the 706 survivors.

The Titanic in pictures

At first, it was not immediately clear to relatives of those on-board the Titanic that the ship had actually sunk. In the hours after the disaster, rumours spread like wildfire as anxious friends and families of the passengers gathered to hear of any news. Finally it was confirmed by White Star Lines, the Titanic's shipping company, that the liner had indeed gone down, incurring massive loss of life.

The Titanic in pictures

706 Titanic passengers and crew survived. Two dogs who were taken on lifeboats by their owners also survived.

Through the official Titanic Relief Fund approximately £413,000 was raised for the Titanic survivors, which is equivalent to £20 million today.

The Titanic in pictures

For many these days, the word Titanic inevitably conjures up images of Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet stood at the bow of the ship, arms stretched out wide, sailing into the sunset.

The monster movie hit Titanic was nominated for 14 oscars and won 11. The film had in total 81 wins and 49 nominations during awards season in 1997.